- Jan 1 Hugh Davies, English composer, dies at 61
- Jan 1 Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson, Icelandic pianist and avant-garde composer, dies at 79
- Jan 5 Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors), dies of lung cancer at 50
- Jan 8 Warren Spears, American choreographer and dancer
- Jan 10 Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
- Jan 11 Jimmy Griffin, American pop singer, guitarist and songwriter, (Bread), and Academy Award winner ("For All We Know"), dies of cancer at 61
- Jan 11 Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (b. 1913)
- Jan 11 Spencer Dryden, American drummer (Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit"; New Riders of the Purple Sage), dies of colon cancer at 66
- Jan 13 Nell Rankin, American operatic mezzo-soprano (Carmen; Metropolitan Opera, 1951-76), dies at 81
- Jan 15 Ruth Warrick, American actress (Citizen Kane; All My Children), and singer, dies of complications from pneumonia at 88
- Jan 15 Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan operatic lyric soprano, dies at 81
- Jan 22 Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican songwriter, dies at 88
- Jan 24 June Bronhill, Australian stage and opera singer, dies at 75
- Jan 25 Ray Peterson, American singer (Tell Laura I Love Her), dies at 65
- Jan 28 Jim Capaldi, British drummer, singer, and songwriter (Traffic - "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"), dies of stomach cancer at 60
- Jan 29 Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen), dies of cancer at 64
- Jan 29 Yutaka Makino, Japanese composer, dies at 74
- Jan 30 Martyn Bennett [-Knight], Canadian-Scottish celtic-fusion piper, pianist, and composer, dies of cancer at 33
- Jan 30 Wes Wehmiller, American touring and session bass guitarist (Duran Duran; Missing Persons), dies of thyroid cancer at 33
- Feb 1 Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, conductor, classical concert, opera, and film score composer (Death in Venice; Il diavolo in giardino), dies at 80
- Feb 6 Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (b. 1930)
- Feb 8 Helmut Eder, Austrian composer, dies at 88
- Feb 8 Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician and organist (Walk On The Wild Side), dies at 79
- Feb 8 Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers; Southern Pacific), dies of pneumonia at 56
- Feb 9 Tyrone Davis, American R&B singer ("Can I Change My Mind"; "Turn Back The Hands Of Time"), dies of complications from a stroke at 66
- Feb 12 Sammi Smith, American country music singer (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies at 61
- Feb 13 Sixten Ehrling, Swedish pianist, conductor (Royal Opera of Stockholm, 1953-60; Detroit Symphony, 1963-73), and educator (Juilliard, 1973-87), dies at 86
- Feb 15 Pierre Bachelet, French singer and songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 60
- Feb 20 John Raitt, American stage and screen singer and actor (Carousel; Pajama Game), dies from pneumonia at 88
- Feb 20 Pam Bricker, American jazz singer (Thievery Corporation) takes her own life at 50
- Feb 21 Ara Berberian, American opera bass singer (Metropolitan Opera, 1979-97), dies at 74
- Feb 25 Edward Patten, American soul singer (Gladys Knight & the Pips), dies of a stroke at 65
- Feb 28 Chris Curtis [Crummey], British rock drummer, songwriter and vocalist (The Searchers - "Needles And Pins"), dies at 63
- Mar 2 Ivan Parik, Czech classical and electro-acoustic composer (Quadrophony), dies at 68
- Mar 2 Martin Denny, American exotica musician, dies at 93
- Mar 4 Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)
- Mar 4 Una Hale, Australian soprano (b. 1922)
- Mar 5 Sergiu Comissiona, Romanian-Israeli-American conductor (Haifa Symphony 1959-64), dies at 76
- Mar 8 Larry Bunker, American session and West Coast jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and timpanist (Bill Evans, Lalo Schifrin, The 5th Dimension, Peggy Lee), dies from complications of a stroke at 76
- Mar 9 Chris LeDoux, American country singer (Ridin' for a Fall), dies at 56
- Mar 10 Danny Joe Brown, American singer (Molly Hatchet), dies of pneumonia at 53
- Mar 10 Mindy Jostyn, American session and touring vocalist, violinist, guitarist, accordionist, and harmonica player (New York Rock and Soul Revue; Billy Joel; Andreas Vollenweider; Carly Simon; Cyndi Lauper), and singer-songwriter ("Five Miles From Hope"; "Coming Home"), dies of cancer at 48
- Mar 12 Stavros Koujioumtzis, Greek songwriter (b. 1932)
- Mar 13 Lyn Collins [Gloria Lavern Collins], American soul singer (Think About It), dies from cardiac arrhythmia at 56
- Mar 17 (Eduardo) "Lalo" Guerrero, American guitarist, Chicano singer-songwriter (Los Carlistas), and women's rights activist, dies at 88
- Mar 21 Bobby Short, American cabaret singer and pianist, dies at 80
- Mar 22 Rod Price, British rock and blues guitar and slide guitar player (Foghat, 1971-80 - "Slow Ride"), dies of a heart attack at 57
- Mar 26 Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Split Enz and Crowded House) (b. 1959)
- Mar 27 Grant Johannesen, American concert pianist, dies at 83
- Mar 27 Gwydion Brooke [Holbrooke], British bassoonist (Royal Philharmonic, 1946-1961), dies at 93
- Mar 28 Dame Moura Lympany, British pianist (b. 1916)
- Mar 30 Derrick Plourde, American punk rock drummer, takes his own life at 33
- Mar 30 Emil Dimitrov, Bulgarian singer (b. 1940)
- Apr 1 Alexander Brott, Canadian violinist, conductor, educator, and composer (McGill Chamber Orchestra), dies at 90
- Apr 1 Harald Juhnke, German actor, comedian and entertainer (Guitars of Love; Schtonk), dies at 75
- Apr 1 Jack Keller, American songwriter, and record producer ("Run To Him"; "Breakin' In A Brand New Broken Heart"; theme to Bewitched), dies of leukemia at 68
- Apr 3 Tony Croatto {Hermes Martinis], Italian-Puerto Rican folk song singer and composer (Los TNT; Haciendo Punto en Otro Son), and television presenter, dies of cancer at 65
- Apr 7 Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer, dies at 82
- Apr 7 José Melis, Cuban-American pianist, orchestra leader, and television personality (Jack Paar Program), dies of a respiratory infection at 85
- Apr 10 Norbert Brainin, Austrian-British violinist (Amadeus Quartet, 1947-87), dies at 82
- Apr 13 Johnnie Johnson, American blues & jazz piano player (Chuck Berry's band), dies of kidney problems and pneumonia at 80
- Apr 13 Johnny Loughrey, Irish singer, dies at 59
- Apr 13 [Salvador] Tutti Camarata, American composer & producer (Vic Damone Show), dies at 91
- Apr 14 Benny Bailey, American jazz trumpeter, dies at 79
- Apr 15 John Fred [Gourrier], American pop singer (John Fred and His Playboy Band - "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)"), dies from kidney disease at 63
- Apr 18 Kenneth Schermerhorn, American conductor (American Ballet), dies at 75
- Apr 19 Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish jazz bassist (b. 1946)
- Apr 19 Rick Lewis, American doo-wop tenor (The Silhouettes - "Get A Job"), dies at 71
- Apr 23 Robert Farnon, Canadian classical and light music composer and conductor dies at 87
- Apr 28 Percy Heath, American jazz bassist (Modern Jazz Quartet), dies at 81
- Apr 29 (Gwendolyn) Dianne Brooks, American R&B, jazz, session and touring vocalist (Three Playmates - "Sugah Wooga"; solo - "Walking On My Mind"; Anne Murray), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 66
- Apr 29 Mariana Levy, Mexican actress, singer, and television show host, dies of a heart attack at 39
- May 3 Pierre Moerlen, French rock-jazz fusion drummer and percussionist (Gong; Mike Oldfield), dies at 52
- May 9 Nasrat Parsa, Afghani singer, dies at 36
- May 10 David Wayne, American singer (Metal Church) (b. 1958)
- May 11 Michalis Genitsaris, Greek rebetiko singer, and composer, dies at 88
- May 12 Monica Zetterlund, Swedish jazz singer (with Bill Evans - "Waltz For Debby"), and dies in an accidental apartment fire at 67
- May 13 Eddie Barclay, French record producer (b. 1921)
- May 22 Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (Tony the Tiger), and bass singer ("You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"), dies from prostate cancer at 91
- May 25 Ruth Laredo, American concert pianist, dies of ovarian cancer at 67
- May 29 George Rochberg, American composer (Concord Quartet), dies at 86
- May 29 Oscar Brown, American singer, songwriter ("Brown Baby"; "Forbidden Fruit"), playwright, and poet, dies from complications of osteomyelitis at 78
- May 31 Jaime Mendoza-Nava, Bolivian-American composer and conductor, dies at 79
- Jun 11 Ghena Dimitrova, Bulgarian operatic soprano, dies of cancer at 64
- Jun 13 David Diamond, American composer (Paderewski Prize, 1943), dies at 89
- Jun 14 Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor, dies at 91
- Jun 17 Henryk Majewski, Polish big band jazz trumpeter (Old Timers), dies at 69
- Jun 17 Karl Mueller, American bassist (Soul Asylum - "Runaway Train"), dies of complications from esophageal cancer at 41
- Jun 17 Ronald Winans, American gospel singer (Winans), dies at 48
- Jun 27 Frank Harte, traditional Irish singer and song collector
- Jul 1 Luther Vandross, American soul singer, songwriter ("Endless Love"; "Dance With My Father"), and vocal arranger (David Bowie - Young Americans), dies of a heart attack at 54
- Jul 1 Renaldo "Obie" Benson, American singer (The Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself"), and songwriter ("What's Going On"), dies from lung cancer at 69
- Jul 4 John Stubblefield, American jazz saxophonist, flute and oboe player (Mingus Big Band), dies at 60
- Jul 5 Shirley Goodman, American R&B and disco singer (Shame Shame Shame), dies at 69
- Jul 6 Richard Verreau, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
- Jul 7 Al Downing, American rockabilly piano player and singer (Big Al & The Chartbusters), dies at 65 [1]
- Jul 10 Roland Bengtsson, Swedish guitarist, lute player and double bassist, dies at 88
- Jul 11 Frances Langford, American singer (I'm In The Mood For Love), entertainer (Armed Forces Hour; USO tours), actress (All-American Co-Ed; Born To Dance), and philanthropist, dies of congestive heart failure at 92
- Jul 14 Joe Harnell, American musician, composer and arranger, dies at 80
- Jul 16 Blue Barron [Harry Freidman], American "sweet music" orchestra leader ("Cruising Down The River"), dies at 91
- Jul 16 Camillo Felgen, Luxembourgish baritone pop and schlager singer ("Bonjour les amies" / "Hello Friends"), lyricist, translator ("I Want to Hold Your Hand" / ""Komm, gib mir deine Hand"'; She Loves You" / "Sie liebt dich"), and broadcaster, dies at 84
- Jul 17 (Lorenzo) "Laurel" Aitken, Cuban-Jamaican singer and one of the pioneers of Caribbean pop and ska music, dies of a heart attack at 78
- Jul 21 Long John Baldry, British blues musician ("Don't Try to Lay No Boogie"), dies at 64
- Jul 22 Eugene Record American songwriter and singer (The Chi-Lites) (b. 1940)
- Jul 23 Myron Floren, American accordionist (The Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 85
- Jul 23 Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946)
- Jul 25 Albert Mangelsdorff, German jazz trombonist, dies at 76
- Jul 29 Hildegarde [Sell], American cabaret vocalist (“Leave It To The Girls"; "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup"), dies at 99
- Jul 30 Lucky [Eli] Thompson, American jazz musician (Cuban Fire!), dies at 81
- Jul 31 Les Braid, British bassist (Swinging Blue Jeans - "Hippie-Hippie Shake), dies of lung cancer at 67
- Aug 1 Al Aronowitz, American music journalist (New York Post; Saturday Evening Post), introduced The Beatles to Bob Dylan, dies of cancer at 77
- Aug 4 Little Milton [James Milton Campbell], American blues singer and guitarist ("Grits Ain't Groceries"), dies at 70
- Aug 4 Nick Perito, American pianist, accordion player, arranger and orchestra leader (Perry Como; Muzak; The Don Knotts Show), dies of pulmonary fibrosis at 81
- Aug 5 (Lyle) "Spud" Murphy [Miko Stefanovic], Serbian-American jazz multi-instrumentalist, arranger (Benny Goodman; Casa Loma Orchestra), bandleader, composer (Columbia Pictures), and educator (Equal Interval System), dies at 96
- Aug 6 (William) "Keter" Betts, American jazz double bassist (Dinah Washington; Charlie Byrd; Ella Fitzgerald), dies of a heart attack at 77
- Aug 6 Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer (Los Bocucos, 1959-91; Buena Vista Social Club), dies at 78
- Aug 6 James Wilson, English-Irish classical composer (Grinning At The Devil), dies at 82
- Aug 16 Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928)
- Aug 16 Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943)
- Aug 20 Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish heavy metal drummer, dies of heart failure at 34
- Aug 21 Martin Dillon, American opera singer, dies of cardiac arrest at 48
- Aug 21 Robert Moog, American engineer (Moog synthesizer, Moog Music), dies of a brain tumor at 71
- Aug 22 Luc Ferrari, French composer, dies at 76
- Aug 23 Brock Peters [George Fisher], American actor and singer (Carmen Jones; To Kill a Mockingbird), dies at 78
- Aug 23 Harold "Hal" Kalin, American singer (Kalin Twins), dies in a road accident at 71
- Aug 24 Kaleth Morales, Colombian vallenato folk music singer and songwriter ("Vivo en el Limbo" - I Live in the Limbo), dies in a vehicle crash at 22
- Aug 26 Denis D'Amour, Canadian heavy metal guitarist (Voivod), dies of cancer at 45
- Aug 27 Bert Farber, American orchestra leader (Arthur Godfrey; Vic Damone), dies at 92
- Aug 29 Barry Cowsill, American rock bassist (The Cowsills - "We Can Fly"), drowned during Hurricane Katrina at 50
- Aug 30 Andor Kovach, Romanian composer (Médée), dies at 90
- Sep 1 R. L. Burnside, American blues musician (Deep Blues), dies at 78 (b. 1926)
- Sep 7 Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer Marianne), dies at 72
- Sep 10 Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American blues singer (Mary is Fine), dies at 81
- Sep 13 Hans Joachim Koellreutter, German Brazilian composer, teacher and musicologist, dies at 90
- Sep 14 Robert Wise, American Academy Award-winning film director (The Day the Earth Stood Still; West Side Story; The Sound Of Music), dies of heat failure at 91
- Sep 16 Constance Moore, American singer and actress (Buck Rogers; Show Business; Atlantic City), dies at 85
- Sep 16 Harry Freedman (Henryk Frydmann), Canadian composer, dies at 83
- Sep 17 Alfred Reed, American classical composer, music editor, and educator, dies at 84
- Sep 22 Heimo Erbse, German concert, opera, and theater composer (Julietta). dies at 81
- Sep 25 Georges Arvanitas, French jazz pianist and organist, dies at 74
- Oct 3 Adrian Ratiu, Romanian composer, dies at 77
- Oct 4 Michael "Mike" Gibbins, Welsh musician (Badfinger), dies from a brain aneurysm at 56
- Oct 6 Warren Frank Benson, American composer (The Leaves Are Falling), and educator (Eastman School, 1967-1993), dies at 81
- Oct 16 "Len" Dresslar, American singer and voice actor (b. 1925)
- Oct 16 David Reilly, American singer ("God Lives Underwater"), dies at 34
- Oct 19 Dallas Cook, American ska-funk trombonist (Suburban Legends), killed in a motorcycle accident at 23
- Oct 20 Shirley Horn, American jazz pianist and vocalist (Embers and Ashes), dies from complications of diabetes at 71
- Oct 22 Franky Gee [Francisco Gutierrez], American-German rapper and pop singer ("Captain Jack"), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 43
- Oct 23 Pete Nelson [Lipscomb], British pop singer (The Flower Pot Men - "Let's Go To San Francisco"), dies at 60
- Oct 28 Fernando Quejas, Cape Verdean singer and musician (b. 1922)
- Oct 31 John "Beatz" Holohan, American drummer (Bayside), dies in an auto accident at 31
- Nov 1 (Lyle) "Skitch" Henderson, British-American pianist and orchestra leader (NBC Radio; NBC Television; New York Pops), dies at 87
- Nov 1 Manuel Castillo, Andalusian classical pianist and composer, dies at 75
- Nov 4 Len Barnard, Australian jazz drummer ("The Naked Dance"; Galapagos Duck), dies at 76
- Nov 4 Milt Holland [Milton Olshansky], American drummer, percussionist, ethno-musicologist, and tinkle-ist (film Tinkerbell's tinkle; Bewitched - Samantha's nose tinkle), dies at 88
- Nov 4 Sheree North, American actress and singer, dies at 73
- Nov 5 (Fred Lincoln) "Link" Wray, Native American rock guitarist ("Rumble"), dies of heart failure at 76 [1]
- Nov 5 Virginia MacWatters, American soprano, dies at 93
- Nov 6 Miguel Aceves Mejía, Mexican actor, composer and singer, dies at 90
- Nov 6 Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress, dies of leukemia at 38
- Nov 10 Gardner Read, American composer (Quiet Music for Strings; Dance of the Locomotives), and pedagogue (Boston University, 1948-78), dies at 92
- Nov 14 Jeno Takacs, Austrian composer, dies at 103
- Nov 20 Chris Whitley, American blues-rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 45
- Nov 20 James King, American tenor, dies at 80
- Nov 21 Bill D'Angelo, American heavy metal guitarist (Femme Fatale, 1987-90), dies of a drug overdose at 43
- Nov 23 Beverly Tyler, American singer and actress (Fireball, The Youngest Profession, Big Town), dies at 78
- Nov 27 Joe Jones, American R&B singer (b. 1926)
- Nov 28 (Daniel) Tony Meehan, British rock drummer (Vipers; Drifters: Shadows), dies from head injury after a fall at his home, at 62
- Dec 1 Dai-Keong Lee, Hawaiian-American classical and theater composer, dies at 90
- Dec 4 Gloria Lasso [Rosa Montserrat Coscolín], French-Spanish n canción melódica singer ("Etranger au paradis"; "Buenas noches mi amor"), dies of a heart attack at 83
- Dec 5 Danny Williams, British pop singer, known as "Britain's Johnny Mathis" ("Moon River"; "White on White"), dies of lung cancer at 63
- Dec 6 Danny Williams, South African-born singer (b. 1942)
- Dec 9 György Sándor, Hungarian pianist, dies at 93
- Dec 13 Timothy Jordan II, American pop-rock musician (The All American Rejects; Jonezetta), takes his own life at 24
- Dec 16 Enzo Stuarti [Scapone], Italian-American pop tenor (That's A'Nice!), dies at 86
- Dec 25 (Märta) Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (Elektra, Salome), dies at 87
- Dec 25 Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (b. 1930)
- Dec 26 Bill DeArango, American jazz guitarist (Charlie Ventura; Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis; "Slam" Stewart), dies at 85
- Dec 26 Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)
- Dec 31 Enrico di Giuseppe, American tenor, dies of cancer at 73